733G41:European Democratic Culture,7,5 Credits (European Integration)

1 LINKÖPING UNIVERSITY Schedule 170215 Department of Management and Engineering European Integration, Political science Spring 2017

7 33 G41:Euro pea n Demo cra ti c Cul ture,7 ,5 credi ts (European Integration)

7 33 G46:Euro pea n Politics,7 ,5 credi ts (Political science students in Sweden

Coordinator & examiner: Mattias Örnerheim, [email protected]

For time and rooms: see Time Edit Week Date Subject Teacher 9 Mon, Feb. 27 Introduction MÖ Tue, Feb. 28 How to study democratic culture MÖ

10 Mon, Mar. 6 Democracy and European politics MÖ Tue, Mar. 7 Democracy and European politics MÖ

Seminar on democratic culture 11 Mon, Mar 13 MÖ Presentation of individual paper

Seminar on democracy in 12 Mon, Mar 20 MÖ Europe (Literature seminar)

13 Final seminar, Group MÖ Tue, Mar 28 assignment

MÖ = Mattias Örnerheim

Literature Schmidt, Vivien A. (2006): Democracy in Europe. The EU and National Polities, Oxford: Oxford University Press

Handouts 2

Examination The requirements of the course are (1) active participation in the seminars and (2) completion and presentation of an individually written paper (3) completion and presentation of a group assignment. There are three seminars, one on an individually written paper (2,5 credits) and one on Democracy in Europe (2,5 credits), and one on the Group Assignment (2,5 credits). The total grade for the course is based on the grades for the three parts. Feedback in different forms will be given on the seminars, on the individually written paper and on the group assignment.

The course ‘European Democratic Culture’ (the lectures and the seminars) will be held together with Swedish students who are taking the course ‘European Politics’ – i.e. the schedule and the requirements for these 2 courses will be exactly the same.

Aim of the course After completion of the course the student should be able to: Understand Europe's democratic historical development, and the democratic forms and thoughts of today, especially within the frame of the European Union.

Seminar on Democratic culture (March 13) For this seminar, each student on the course shall formulate and present an individually written paper, on 1500 – 2000 words - typed, size 12, 1.5 spaced - about a topic within the field of democratic culture and/or European politics. You shall formulate a research question and a proposal to a relevant method to answer the question. The method section should include a description of conceivable data collection and a way to analyze your problem.

A basic idea with this paper and seminar is either to enhance the quality of the group assignment for the final seminar or to prepare yourselves for your bachelor thesis. Please upload the paper on LISAM at the latest on Thursday 9th of March.

The sources you use must have a reference in your paper, using either the Oxford or Harvard reference system. To copy and paste text into your paper is regarded as plagiarism and will be reported to the disciplinary board. You need to give reference to the sources you use and write the paper in your own words. The principle of quote or re-write applies. Please also include a reference list in your final text. Try to write in a clear and coherent way. Put an overall title on your work, use headings, subheadings and apply an ordinary paragraph technique. The paper must have a title page and your name on it. 3

Seminar on Democracy in Europe (March 20) These are eight broad questions on the book by Schmidt. Be prepared to discuss them at the seminar on March 20. Think about what you find convincing or not in the book. How does your country fit in her theories? Are there elements that you think should be added to the author’s theories?

1. What does the author mean when she states that the EU is characterized by ‘policy without politics’, while its member states have “politics without policy”? What are the consequences of this paradoxical situation? 2. What is a “regional state” and how does this concept solve the problem of low legitimacy (“democratic deficit”) for the EU according to the author? 3. A key distinction is between “compound” and “simple” states. What is this and is it a useful distinction? 4. Membership of the EU places the member states in a quasi-federal political system; how does this affect the political systems of the member states (decision-making and implementation)? 5. How is the situation for organized interests affected in the four countries? 6. How is the situation for the political parties affected in the four countries? 7. How is the political debate (“the discourses”) affected in the four countries? 8. If you are from another member state, which country (of the four used as examples) does it look most similar too? If not, what do you think about Sweden?

Group Assignment (seminar March 28) In addition to the individual assignments, all students of the course need to participate in the completion of a group assignment. The purpose of the exercise is that you will work independently as a group with a project that will be presented at the final seminar. The task consists in clarifying and/or criticizing the overarching theme of the course: “European Democratic Culture” and “European Politics”.

Questions you may consider: When comparing the countries of Europe, is it possible to find indications of a common European democratic culture? What are the similarities that serve as the foundation for such a culture? Are there vital differences present that make it difficult to speak about a shared democratic culture? Do countries in specific regions of Europe have more similarities with each other, e.g. when it comes to politics? Are there several democratic cultures or politics in Europe? Is it possible to distinguish a European democratic culture from other democratic cultures around the world? Will political cultures in Europe become harmonized over time or will differences persist? etcetera.

When completing this assignment you are free to use all available library resources, the Internet, as well as course material. The important thing is that you arrive at an argument that is supported by facts and rational reasoning – we are not interested in “mere opinions”! We are also not interested in merely having the course literature described back to us! The sources you have used should be referenced in your paper, using either the Oxford or Harvard reference system.

To copy and paste text into your paper is regarded as plagiarism and will be reported to the disciplinary board. You need to give reference to the sources you use and write the paper in your own words. The principle of quote or re-write applies. 4

Please also include a reference list in your final text. Try to write in a clear and coherent way. Put an overall title on your work, use headings, subheadings and apply an ordinary paragraph technique. Try also to work and formulate yourselves as a (i.e. one) group. If your group needs help with finding articles and books for your report, please contact the library.

The assignment should be written as a report consisting of between 2500 – 3000 words, typed size 12, 1.5 spaced. It should have a title page with the names of the group participants and a word count. All sources should be stated in a bibliography (reference list) at the end. The assignment is to be uploaded on LISAM on Friday 24 March.

The group-papers will be published on LISAM. Use these to prepare your presentations and comments on the other papers at the final seminar. You are subsequently required to present your findings orally at the final seminar (maximum 15 minutes per group). The presentation shall be prepared and involve all group members. An opposition schedule will be published on the home page for the course. Please also prepare your oppositions in a careful manner! An instruction for this will be available on LISAM.